San Jose Sharks Eliminate Nashville Predators in Game 7 Rout

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The Sharks’ Joel Ward, left, celebrates after scoring the second of San Jose’s five goals in a Game 7 victory.CreditCreditMarcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

By The Associated Press

May 13, 2016

Joe Pavelski tied a franchise record with his ninth goal of the playoffs as the San Jose Sharks advanced to the Western Conference final with a 5-0 victory in Game 7 against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

Joel Ward, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau also scored as San Jose bounced back from a lackluster loss to thoroughly dominate the Predators.

Defensive miscues by Nashville’s two top defensemen, the captain Shea Weber and Roman Josi, led to early San Jose goals as goalie Pekka Rinne got little help from his teammates. Martin Jones made 20 saves for San Jose’s first playoff shutout in six years.

San Jose opens the conference finals on the road Sunday against the St. Louis Blues. The Sharks previously got there in 2004, 2010 and 2011 — only to lose each time as a long run of regular-season success behind stars such as Thornton and Marleau has not yet led to the ultimate postseason goal.

United States Shuts Out France The United States moved a step closer to qualifying for the quarterfinals of the hockey world championship, beating France, 4-0, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Chris Wideman, Connor Murphy and J. T. Compher scored in quick succession late in the second period, and Brady Skjei scored in the third.

The United States is 2-2 and in third place in Group B behind Canada and Finland; the top four teams advance.

Also Thursday, Canada downed Germany, 5-2, in its tightest win yet; the Czech Republic routed Norway, 7-0, to take a 3-point lead atop Group A; and host Russia demolished Denmark, 10-1.

Injury Report Devils forward Patrik Elias and goalie Cory Schneider each had surgery this week. Elias, the team’s all-time leading scorer, had surgery on his right knee; the 40-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Schneider had surgery for a core muscle injury.

Pro Basketball

Coach of Magic Resigns After One Season

Scott Skiles resigned as coach of the Orlando Magic after just one season with the team, a development that executives insisted they had not seen coming. Skiles left after a sometimes turbulent season in which Orlando improved by 10 wins, finishing 35-47, but again missed the playoffs.

Skiles, a former Magic player, previously coached in Phoenix, Chicago and Milwaukee. His departure leaves Orlando as the fourth N.B.A. team with a coaching opening, along with Indiana, Memphis and Houston.

W.N.B.A. Loses Experience The Atlanta Dream released the W.N.B.A.’s oldest player, DeLisha Milton-Jones, 41. A three-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, she has played in a league-record 499 games.

Baseball

Injuries Force Changes to Royals’ Rotation

The Kansas City Royals revamped their rotation after putting the starters Chris Young and Kris Medlen on the 15-day disabled list. Young has a strained right forearm, and Medlen has inflammation in his right rotator cuff. Dillon Gee and Danny Duffy will fill in while Young (1-5, 6.68 E.R.A) and Medlen (1-3, 7.77 E.R.A.) are out.

Trade Time The Chicago White Sox acquired pitcher Anthony Ranaudo from the Texas Rangers, two days after the right-hander walked five White Sox hitters in one inning. The Rangers received the minor league pitcher Matt Ball.

Football

Black College Hall of Fame Finds Home

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that it would create a permanent home for the Black College Football Hall of Fame as part of a $500 million development in Canton, Ohio, that is scheduled to be completed in 2019.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame, which honors those who played and coached at historically black colleges and universities, was founded in 2009 by the former N.F.L. quarterbacks Doug Williams and James Harris.

Soccer

After Scandals, Concacaf Elects President

Victor Montagliani was elected as Concacaf’s third president in a year, charged with leading the recovery of the confederation after years of corruption scandals.

Montagliani, who heads the Canadian Soccer Association, takes the job after three of his recent predecessors have been indicted by federal prosecutors in a sprawling FIFA bribery case. He claimed a 25-16 victory over Larry Mussenden of Bermuda, the FIFA appeals panel chairman, after a split in votes in the Caribbean bloc.

Montagliani served last year on the reform panel that helped rewrite FIFA’s rules after sprawling investigations into corruption among soccer officials.

Jeffrey Webb, a Cayman Islands banker, was removed as Concacaf president after being arrested last May; his interim successor, the Honduran lawyer Alfredo Hawit, was indicted in December. Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, the president from 1990 to 2011, has also been indicted.

Everton Fires Manager Roberto Martinez was fired by Everton after failing to get the best out of what is widely regarded as the club’s strongest squad in years. The team won only one of its last 10 games in all competitions and is in 12th place in the Premier League.

The former Netherlands defender Frank de Boer, who announced that he would leave the Dutch team Ajax, has been linked with the Everton manager’s job.

Penalty Dispute Leads to Trade Striker Kei Kamara was traded from the Columbus Crew to the New England Revolution in an M.L.S. swap days after a heated argument with his teammate Federico Higuain.

Kamara, who led M.L.S. with 22 goals last year, was involved in a spat with Higuain last Saturday over who would take a penalty in a 4-4 draw with Montreal. Higuain eventually converted the kick to give Columbus a 4-1 lead, but Kamara ripped him and the team after the match.

The Revolution sent a record $300,000 in allocation money and two draft picks to the Crew.

(AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE)

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B13 of the New York edition with the headline: Sharks Eliminate Predators in a Game 7 Rout. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe